Application architect, Software Development, Software Architect

This is a hybrid position located in Memphis TN & Pittsburg PA. Candidates must live within 50 miles of the campus location. Employees will be required to work at the Fed Ex campus location several times per week.

Essential Functions / Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, modernization, and technical evolution of existing enterprise applications, with a focus on preparing and optimizing applications to run effectively within Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
• Design application functionality and identify opportunities to improve the performance, scalability, reliability, and cloud readiness of Java-based applications.
• Assess existing applications and platforms to determine necessary architectural changes, upgrades, and modernization efforts required to meet public cloud infrastructure standards
  .
• Proactively upgrade application dependencies, frameworks, and libraries while identifying and remediating vulnerabilities to reduce technical debt, security risk, and long-term maintenance challenges
  .
• Identify process and technical improvements that reduce developer friction, repetitive work, and time spent resolving avoidable engineering issues
  .
• Leverage Claude, Git Hub Copilot, Large Language Models, and other AI-assisted development tools to accelerate development, troubleshooting, modernization, documentation, and overall delivery.
• Serve as a technical leader and architectural resource for development teams, helping engineers make sound design decisions and implement established architectural standards.
• Collaborate closely with developers, architects, engineering leaders, and cross-functional partners to establish and propagate architecture and engineering best practices across teams and the broader organization.
• Develop and communicate application architecture diagrams, technical designs, solution recommendations, and modernization roadmaps using tools such as Sparx Enterprise Architect, Visio, or similar platforms.
• Present technical concepts, architectural recommendations, risks, and tradeoffs to both technical and non-technical audiences
  , including senior leadership.
• Drive architectural initiatives forward by building alignment across teams, challenging existing approaches when appropriate, and helping move technical decisions through leadership and governance processes.
• Maintain a strong understanding of the broader application/platform ecosystem and ensure individual application decisions align with enterprise architecture and cloud strategy
  .

Required Skills / Qualifications

• Strong experience with application architecture, software architecture, or technical architecture within a large or complex enterprise environment.
• Demonstrated experience designing, modernizing, or migrating applications for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or a comparable public cloud environment.
• Strong working knowledge of Java-based enterprise applications
  , ideally including modern Java and Spring/Spring Boot
  .
• Experience evaluating existing applications and determining the changes necessary to make them cloud-ready, scalable, secure, and maintainable
  .
• Strong understanding of application architecture principles, design patterns, integrations, dependencies, APIs, and distributed application environments.
• Experience identifying and addressing technical debt, application vulnerabilities, outdated dependencies, and legacy technology concerns
  .
• Experience creating and communicating architectural designs using tools such as Sparx Enterprise Architect, Microsoft Visio, or similar architecture/diagramming tools
  .
• Familiarity with AI-assisted software development
  , including tools such as Claude, Git Hub Copilot, LLMs, or comparable generative AI technologies.
• Strong presentation and communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical information for both technical and non-technical stakeholders
  .
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a technical leader and influencer
  , working across development teams without necessarily having direct management responsibility.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to independently identify opportunities for technical and process improvement.
• Ability to drive initiatives through ambiguity, gain stakeholder alignment, and move architectural recommendations through senior leadership and organizational decision-making processes
  .

Nice to Have

• Experience presenting architecture strategy, modernization recommendations, or major technical initiatives directly to executive-level stakeholders
  .
• Experience leading large-scale application…